What is

BlackBerry Persona

?

BlackBerry Persona

is a cloud service that dynamically adapts the security requirements and behavior of your users' devices and work apps to their real-world contexts. For example, if a

BlackBerry Dynamics

app reports a location that is not typical for the user,

Persona

can dynamically limit the user’s access to work apps, disable device features such as the camera, and enforce stricter authentication requirements. Likewise, if a

BlackBerry Dynamics

app reports a location that is typical for the user,

Persona

can apply device behaviors that make it easier to access work apps and resources.

Persona

adds a layer of adaptive security to your organization’s existing

UEM

domain without introducing an additional software footprint. It is a cloud service that collects data from existing

BlackBerry

solutions, including BlackBerry Enterprise Identity and

BlackBerry Dynamics

apps.

The

Persona

services gather and process behavioral data, app events, and location data to calculate risk levels for each user in real time:

Behavioral risk: An assessment of risk based on the user’s typical activities.
Continuous authentication app anomaly risk: An assessment of risk based on a model of the user’s typical
BlackBerry Dynamics
app usage. If an app reports behaviors or events that do not fit the user’s model,
Persona
triggers an action that you configure (for example, a prompt for authentication or blocking apps).
Geozone risk: An assessment of risk based on the user’s proximity to learned locations. You can also define custom geozones with static risk levels (for example, a specific office location with a low risk level).

You can choose which risk engines you want

Persona

to use. For the different types and levels of risk, you can configure actions that you want

Persona

to execute when a user meets that risk criteria, including:

Assigning the user to a local
UEM
group with policies, profiles, apps, and permissions appropriate for that risk level
Assign a
BlackBerry Dynamics
profile that overrides the profile assigned in
UEM
Temporarily blocking all
BlackBerry Dynamics
apps
Temporarily blocking the specific
BlackBerry Dynamics
app that initiated the risk assessment

After some initial configuration,

Persona

continuously applies adaptive and intelligent security standards to each user’s device and work apps based on the user’s behavior, device usage, and physical location, with no action required by users or administrators.

Persona

also adds new functionality to

BlackBerry Enterprise Identity

authentication policies. You can now incorporate a user’s behavioral risk level, geozone risk level, or a defined geozone into the factors that determine the authentication type required for work apps and services. For example, if a user's behavioral risk level is high, you can require the user to enter both a password and use

BlackBerry 2FA

to access work apps.